What's happening here? Well we stuck around at the festival for the Bee Beard. Obviously. The first time I have seen this happen, so I guess I have a long way to go if I'm to be a true bee nerd. The Queen is captured and strapped to the chin of Nikolai, the man in the speedos. After a little coaxing the hive find her and surround her, forming a buzzing beard. It took awhile, what with slightly windy conditions, but it was definitely a bee beard, and some boxing gloves. He didn't mind to pose.
The bees go back into the hive. Bee Bearding is common in the beekeeping community. I googled it as soon as I got home. Most advanced attempts at the record for bee bearding now involve bees covering the entire face, torso, back, and arms of the participant in order to provide sufficient surface area for the bees to land. Nevertheless, the name 'bee bearding' is still used. This is a champion beard.
And, to finish the story. In 2009, couple Li Wenhua and Yan Hongxia of Ning'an, China, both beekeepers, married while both were covered in bees. True love bee beard.
